


The Looping Timeline

by NekoNomi



Series: The Infinite Loops [3]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-29
Updated: 2014-11-06
Packaged: 2018-02-06 17:23:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1866123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NekoNomi/pseuds/NekoNomi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A basic timeline detailing which events occur at which point of the loops. The timing of events may be subject to change as new chapters are written.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Marvel Cinematic Universe

\- **Darcy starts to Loop**  
\- Ficlet 1.01 ~ Loops  
\- Ficlet 3.02 ~ Pantherguard  
\- **Loki starts to Loop**  
\- Ficlet 1.02 ~ Loki  
\- Ficlet 1.03 ~ Goddess  
\- Ficlet 1.04 ~ Contract  
\- Ficlet 4.04 ~ Bond  
\- Ficlet 4.05 ~ Soul  
\- **Jane starts Looping**  
\- Ficlet 2.01 ~ Jane  
\- Ficlet 3.01 ~ Intern  
\- **Phil Coulson starts Looping**  
\- Ficlet 4.02 ~ Phil  
\- Ficlet 5.02 ~ Explanations  
\- Ficlet 7.02 ~ Radio  
\- **Thor starts Looping**  
\- **Pepper Potts starts Looping**  
\- **James Rhodes starts Looping**  
\- Ficlet 2.03 ~ Desolation  
\- Ficlet 4.03 - Guardians of the Galaxy  
\- **Clint Barton starts Looping**  
\- **Natasha Romanov starts Looping**  
\- **Steve Rogers starts Looping**  
\- **Tony Stark starts Looping**  
\- Ficlet 2.02 ~ Jewels  
\- Ficlet 5.01 ~ Hairdresser  
\- Ficlet 5.03 ~ My Little Pony  
\- Ficlet 7.01 ~ Secret Identity  
\- _Harry Potter branch damaged. HP Loopers added to MCU loops for safe keeping until HP loop can be fixed_  
\- Ficlet 6.01 ~ The Child  
\- Ficlet 6.02 ~ The Seer  
\- Ficlet 6.03 ~ The Dog  
\- Ficlet 7.04 ~ Age of Ultron  
\- Ficlet 7.03 ~ Alicornification  



	2. Universes and their anchors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A listing of various universes known to be actively looping, their anchors, why that particular anchor was chosen, as well as a list of known loopers in approximate order of awakening.

Marvel Cinematic Universe (Marvel Studios)  
Anchor - Darcy Lewis  
Admin - Hel

Why: Darcy is uniquely located in the MCU, in that from her position as Jane's Assistant she is theoretically able to touch the lives of every Avenger. Though her backstory is highly loop-variable, she is one of the most stable minds and personalities within the loop, as well as having one of the lowest risks of baseline death.

Loop Information: The baseline follows the plot of the movies, with regular expansions as new movies come out. The Marvel TV shows (such as Agents of Shield and Agent Carter) are considered part of the baseline. Other Marvel Comics based movies franchises (such as X-men) are commonly integrated into the loop history.

Known Loopers:  
Loki  
Jane Foster, Phil Coulson  
Thor Odinson, Pepper Potts, James Rhodes  
_Unidentified Looper_  
Clint Barton, Natasha Romanov  
Tony Stark, Steve Rogers  
Bucky Barnes, Sam Wilson, Bruce Banner  
Peter Parker

\------------  
Harry Potter (by J.K Rowling)  
Anchor - Luna Lovegood  
Admin - ?

Why: Though there were plenty of characters within the Harry Potter universe who could have been chosen as Anchor, Luna seemed the obvious choice to me. While Harry might seem more obvious to some, given that he does die at the end of canon (even if he does come back), that seems rather counter productive given a loop ends when the anchor dies, and the sheer number of times when he was saved only by luck and a single thing happening slightly differently might have turned the odds in favour of his death, it just didn't seem feasible to me. Someone who stays relatively safe and sane throughout the course of the baseline is the preferred choice and Luna seemed the best fit for that requirement, not to mention seeming to be the least likely to develop the kind of insanity which turns homicidal.

Loop Information: Hogwarts is considered one of the more interesting loops to be part of, largely due to the easily accessible nature of the magic, and that said magic is one of the forms most easily retained and used outside of Hogwarts based loops.

Known Loopers:  
Harry Potter  
Hermione Granger, Neville Longbottom  
Ron Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Fred Weasley, George Weasley  
Sirius Black, Remus Lupin  
Hedwig, Crookshanks

\------------  
Firefly (as created by Joss Whedon)  
Anchor - Serenity  
Admin - ?

Why: Serenity has been referred by the cast and crew of the show as being the 10th member of the cast. Given how often her crew refer to her as a being of her own, it seemed reasonable to consider her as such and given how often said crew either die or come close to death with only luck keeping them alive, there was no easy candidate among the crew for the position of Anchor. Also, because it is hilarious.

Loop Information: As the anchor is a semi-sentient spaceship, these loops rarely playout exactly according to baseline, as Serenity the Anchor always keeps extras of the spare parts she knows her body needs throughout a loop.

Known Loopers:  
River Tam  
Malcom Reynolds, Kaylee Fry  
Zoe Washburn, Hoban Washburn  
Simon Tam, Shephard Book

\------------  
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (as created by Lauren Faust)  
Anchor - Twilight Sparkle  
Anchor - Slepnir

Why: Because in the end, Twilight is the only person who can be the right place at the right time to either deal with the problems of Equestria or pull the strings needed to get them dealt with

Loop Information: Many loopers use Equestria as a vacation loop, as it's a light and easy setting. Non-standard Elements of Harmony do not work outside of the originating loop. Baseline elements loose most of their powers outside of Equestrian loops.

Known Loopers:  
Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash  
Spike, Cadance, Big Mac  
Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo  
Cadance, Celestia, Luna  
Discord, Chrysalis

\------------  
Dragonriders of Pern (by Anne McCaffery)  
Anchor - F'nor and Canth (8th/9th Pass) | Sorka and Faranth (1st Pass)  
Anchor - ?

Why: As the Pern Series covers some 2000+ years of history, it requires multiple anchors to get the complete series looping. Thus far only the 9th Pass and 1st Pass are successfully looping. Due to the connected nature of the loops, unusual happenings in the 1st Pass loops can be the set up for odd variants in the loops which occur later in the timeline.

Loop Information: Due to the nature of the baseline impression bond, Pernese loopers find they that will always impress to the same dragon/firelizard/wher as they did in baseline, no matter when they do so in the timeline.

Known Loopers:  
F'lar and Mnementh, Lessa and Ramoth  
Brekke and Wirenth, Robinton  
Jaxom and Ruth, Menolly  
\----  
Sean and Carenath  
Marco and Duluth  
M'hall and Brianth, Torene and Alaranth

\------------  
.hack// (by Cyberconnect2/Bandai)  
Anchor - Aura  
Admin - ?

Why: There are only a few characters who crop up in every iteration of the World and really, who better than the Goddess of 'The World', the Ultimate AI, to anchor a loop which takes place largely in a digital setting.

Loop Information: The World is a loop which is notoriously easy to crash. 

Known Loopers:  
An Shoji/Tsukasa  
Mariko Misino/Subaru, Ryo Sakuma/Bear  
Ryou Misaki/Sora/Haseo  
Kite, Orca, Balmung, Black Rose  
Mimiru, Elk, Mia - Mia regularly loops in as Macha  
Zefie, Morti - Zefie and Morti occasionally loop in as Lycoris  
Shugo, Rena, Mireille, Hotaru  
Ouka, Reki

\------------  
Doctor Who (by the BBC)  
Anchor - The Tardis  
Admin - ?

Why: To my mind there is no really good candidate for the position of Anchor besides the Tardis. The time travelling shenanigans make almost anyone except the Doctor, the Tardis and perhaps Jack an unusable choice as they have no ability to effect the timeline unless their chosen as a companion and even the companions ability to effect things is limited, as is the time which they can spend with the Doctor. Given how much time the Doctor spends skirting the edges of sanity, and how often Jack dies (even if it doesn't have a chance to stick past the first time in the baseline), neither is an optimal choice for the position, while the Tardis is always there, well able to effect the timeline and base events by choosing where the Doctor ends up next and is not prone to dying while its nature as a sentient construct gives it a mental and emotional stability which the other possible anchor candidates lack.

Loop Information: For a long time it was believed that this universe would never be set to looping, due to the inherent time travel mechanic and the time-lord ability to regenerate.

Known Loopers:  
The Doctor - For a long time the Doctor believed himself to be the Anchor.  
Susan, Donna Noble, Clara Oswald  
Jack Harkness, Sarah Jane Smith, Martha Jones

\------------  
Legend of Zelda (by Nintendo)  
Anchor - The Triforce  
Admin - Epona

Why: The Triforce is an odd case, given it is a looping semi-sentient artifact which is often non-corporeal in the nature of it's power. The way this works is by giving the power of the Triforce as an anchor to one of the three holders of the parts of the Triforce (Zelda, Link or Ganondorf) in each loop, with the trio trading off the position on a regular basis. It is entirely possible for all of them to be awake at the same time, but only one will have anchor status in each loop. This bypasses the various problems which each of the trio have which makes them less desirable as sole-anchor candidates as well as taking into account that each of them is a way in which the Triforce exerts its influence on the world and grants them power, thereby making it the being with the most power to influence the events of the timeline. Additionally, the Triforce and it's power are the only things to remain a constant in the cycling nature of Hyrulian history.

Loop Information: Due to the inherent reincarnation mechanic present in Hyrule, and the the long timeline over which it operates, it is entirely possible for the events of one loop to become the history upon which another is based.

Known Loopers:  
Link, Zelda, Ganon - All awoke at the same time. As the baseline holders of the pieces of the Triforce, one of them **must** be awake in order for a loop to occur.  
Malon, Saria  
Navi  
Ruto, Mipha - Yggdrasil sometimes confuses these two, leading to Mipha regularly appearing in Ruto's place, or Ruto appearing in Mipha's place.  


\------------  
The Last Dragonlord (by Joanne Bertin)  
Anchor - Lindan and Maurynna  
Admin - ?

Why: Of all the major characters in the novels, Linden is the one who is both best placed to alter events, and the dragonlord best able to deal with prolonged separation from his soul-twin, having gone several hundred years without her in baseline. However, due to a oddity in how the system treats the soul-twin mechanic, both halves of a bond are considered as a single being with regards to awakening. Thus Linden and Maurynna share the duty of anchor.

Loop Information: The dragon half of each dragonlord is considered to be a separate soul to that of it's human counterpart, and it is possible for them to awaken and loop independently of their human-soul. In other settings with soul based bonds, a dragonlord looper may find themselves bonded to their soul-twin or their dragon-soul.

Known Loopers:  
Rathan, Kyrissaean  
Raven Redhawkson, Otter  


\------------  
Twilight (by Stephenie Meyer)  
Anchor - Leah Clearwater  
Admin - Fenrir

Why: Though not well treated in the canon, Leah is a complex character who is one of the few in her world with the innate resilience needed to survive as the anchor to such a rough loop.

Loop Information: A loop which is darker than it looks, due in large part to the telepathic vampire who reads the minds of all he meets and the Pack-mind of the werewolves. Visiting Loopers tend to derail the storyline as quickly as possible, as well as seek a way to opt-out of the pack-mind should they loop in as were-wolves. All Looping wolves have sought out-of-loop methods of changing their basic form so that they as no-longer subject to the packmind or the imprinting process.

Known Loopers:  
Jacob Black, Seth Clearwater  
Alice Cullen, Jasper Hale


End file.
